This invention relates to a hip belt.
A typical belt comprises an elongate strip of material for encircling the waist of the wearer along with means for connecting the free ends of the belt together, such as a belt buckle or the like. Adjustment of a belt to fit a particular individual is often accomplished by a series of holes punched along the elongate strip with which the belt buckle is selectively engaged.
Belts can have both functional and decorative characteristics. For example, a belt can be both functional and decorative by providing it with a decorative appearance and with a construction which enables it to be drawn tightly around a wearer so as to support an article of clothing on the wearer, i.e. trousers or a skirt.
Alternatively a belt can be principally decorative when an associated article of clothing relies on another means of support. For example, a trousers or skirt could have an elastic waist band which provides the support, and an associated belt can be merely decorative although it might provide some degree of incidental support.
When a belt is fabricated as an elongate strip of material, several feet of such material is required, a typical length being approximately 21/2 to 31/2 feet.
Where belts are made from a natural source, i.e. leather, this requirement may impose a constraint on the number of strips which can be cut from a given piece of raw material.
A more efficient use of such raw material can be made by constructing a belt from a number of smaller individual pieces which are then connected together.
One of the advantages of the present invention is that the belt is constructed from a number of individual pieces of material, and it is therefore more efficient in the use of such raw material.
Another aspect of the invention is that it is wellsuited for conformance with an individual user, particularly as a hip belt. An associated article of clothing will usually not have this particular shape of conformance, and therefore the belt of the present invention may be considered to be primarily decorative rather than possessing the principally functional attribute of supporting the associated article of clothing, such as slacks or a skirt. Principles of the invention however may be applicable to a belt which performs an article support function.
The invention comprises in the preferred embodiment a number of individual pieces which are successively connnected together. The individual pieces have particular shapes, sizes, and means of connection which endow the belt with its ability to conform to the configuration of the individual as a hip belt.
Moreover, the individual pieces are of a size which renders them suited for the inscription of decoration and/or indicia to promote a desired appearance.
Furthermore, because the individual pieces are of substantially identical size and shape in a given belt, it is possible to replace individual pieces so that decorative designs can be changed from time to time by the particular individual. A particularly advantageous way of commercializing the belt is by packaging it in an enclosure or wrap containing a number of the individual pieces stacked together. They may have identical or differing designe. The purchaser may buy selected ones of these packages for the purpose of creating desired belt patterns with full assurance that the individual pieces will fit together. Of course a belt could be sold in forms other than a package of stacked pieces, and it is possible to sell a number of pieces already connected together as a belt, or to sell individual unconnected pieces.
It is also possible to construct a belt embodying principles of the invention without the need to have an accompanying belt buckle or equivalent means of connecting the ends together because the individual pieces themselves contain connecting means for making the connections of the free ends. Because the entire belt is constructed of like individual pieces separably connected together, any one of the connections may be broken to enable the user to adjust the belt to dispose respective pieces of the belt at particular locations along the length of the belt to yield a desired appearance when it is being worn.
Moreover in the disclosed preferred embodiment of the invention, the particular unique organization and arrangement provides for the belt to conform to individuals without necessarily having to have a piece which is unlike the others, although obviously one might choose to insert a dissimilar piece or pieces into the belt. For example a belt constructed of a particular number of individual identical pieces may be adapted for an individual having a particular nominal girth. Because of the ability of the belt to conform to different body shapes as will be seen in more detail herein after, a particular belt containing a particular number of pieces can accommodate individuals having girths slightly greater and slightly lesser than the nominal figure, but if the accommodation were deemed not exactly correct, then it is possible to either insert or remove an odd piece into or from the belt so that a closer fit can be obtained.
The foregoing features, advantages and benefits of the invention, along with additional ones, will be seen in the ensuing description and claims which should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings disclose a preferred embodiment of the invention according to the best mode contemplated at the present time in carrying out the invention.